CALEB RIORDAN | Reporter

Lindenwood women’s field hockey’s road trip to the Northeast saw them fight neck and neck against West Chester University of Pennsylvania through double overtime and take home 5-2 and 4-1 victories over other teams.  

The first of the three away games for the Lions was Friday against the top-ranked team in the nation, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Lindenwood showed that they should be considered among the best teams in the country, as they played the Golden Rams close through the entire game.

Senior goalie Skylar Starbeck drew the start in net for the Lions and senior Marissa Elizardo got the start for the Rams.

Lindenwood struck first in this tightly contested battle when Lions’ leading scorer, junior Bridget Hoogendijk, scored her 12th goal of the season in the 11th minute of the game. The Lions carried the 1-0 lead into the second half.

However, the Lions were outshot 14-3 by the end of the half. Starbeck made six saves in the half to keep the 1-0 lead safe.

Starbeck was a brick wall until the 54th minute of the game. The Rams’ junior Sophie Ruppert scored to tie the game at one.  The tie lasted until the end of regulation. Going into overtime, the Rams were still heavily outshooting the lions 23-6. Starbeck had made 12 saves for the Lions, only letting in one goal.

Neither team let up in overtime, and the first period was held scoreless, leading to another overtime, which had the same result. This meant the Lions were heading into a shootout against the best team in the nation. They came up short, losing the shootout to the Rams 4-2.

The loss brought Lindenwood’s record to 8-3. They did not leave the loss disappointed, as they held their own throughout regulation and overtime against the number one team in the country. Starbeck made 16 saves while only allowing one goal.

The Lions’ second game of the weekend came against Seton Hill University on Saturday.

The Griffins struck early in this contest when junior Caitlin Bray scored in the fifth minute to give them the 1-0 lead.  Shortly after, Hoogendijk scored her 13th goal of the season for the Lions to tie the game at one. The first half ended tied at one.

The Lions opened up the game in the second half, adding four more goals before the Griffins could answer back. The first of the half was scored by junior Jessie Londono in the 45th minute to give the Lions the lead. Then, Hoogendijk scored her 14th and 15th goals of the season to give her a hat trick for the game. Finally, the last goal of the game for the Lions was scored by junior Kaitlin MacLennan to give them a 5-1 lead.

Seton Hill was able to register another goal, but eventually lost to the Lions 5-2.

The third and final game of the weekend for the Lions came Monday against Mercy College.

The Lions got to work early in the game, scoring three first half goals. The first was scored by freshman Pauline Terwindt off a penalty stroke in the 18th minute. The second was scored by Hoogendijk for her 16th of the season.

This goal was Hoogendijk’s 36th in her career, making her tied for the top spot on Lindenwood’s all-time goals scored list.

Mercy was able to limit the damage, as sophomore Angela Robbins scored in the 32nd minute to cut the Lions’ lead in half. The Lions’ third goal of the half was scored again by Terwindt for her second of the game. The Lions went into halftime with a 3-1 lead.

The only goal of the second half was scored by Lions’ junior Caro Theunisz, and secured the 4-1 win over the Mavericks.

The Lions ended the weekend with a 10-3 record, and have two games left in their regular season. Next, they travel to Bellarmine University to take on the Knights Friday, Oct. 26

UPDATED Oct. 25, 2018 at 9:18 a.m. with fact that Hoogendijk is tied for most career goals at Lindenwood.